World Cup 2018: 5 reasons Croatia could win in Russia

#1 Dominance in midfield

Croatia's midfield is world-class

The heart of a team is undeniably the midfield, as it is the gateway between the defence and attack, and few teams are as dominant in midfield, as Croatia.

Croatia's midfield consists of Luka Modric, who consistently performs well for both Real Madrid and the national team, and is undeniably one of the best midfielders in the world right now, Ivan Rakitic, who is an extremely versatile workhorse in La Liga champions FC Barcelona's midfield, and one of: Fiorentina captain Milan Badelj, or Marcelo Brozovic, who has had a highly successful season in Serie A with Inter Milan.

In the present World Cup, Croatia has been using the 4-3-3 formation, with a standard midfield that has two central-midfielders, and one defensive midfielder. Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic are two mainstays in the central midfield position, with the Croatian captain playing a creative role to try and create chances for the front three, while Ivan Rakitic tries to advance play from defence to midfield by making quick passes in the middle while defending and attacking when needed.

In the defensive midfielder role is one of Milan Badelj or Marcelo Brozovic, and depending on who is playing, they have different roles. Milan Badelj is a very defensive-minded midfielder, and he stays back while the attack is progressing to prevent the counter-attack, while Marcelo Brozovic plays the passing game and advances forward with the other midfielders, playing a more box-to-box position.

Even if one or more of these midfielders falls out of form, Croatia has two highly talented midfielders who could slot into the midfield easily, in Mateo Kovacic and Filip Bradaric. Kovacic can play the role of one of the two central-midfielders, while the highly versatile Bradaric can play in the position of just about anyone in the midfield.